The Dance
by Lara140112
Summary: A wedding is about love, family, good food and a dance or two. Here are some musings on the day that Harry and Ginny got hitched. (One-shot in 2 parts).
1. Harry

**The Dance**

It was beautiful, absolutely and utterly beautiful. Harry's eyes wandered around the room, taking in the beauty of the venue, the lights glittering around the room as the sun had set hours ago. Next to him Ginny was sipping on a glass of wine, their friends and family were scattered around the room. His eyes landed on Arthur dancing with his oldest grand-child at the back of the room. Close to them Charlie was entertaining young Teddy Lupin, probably with some slightly exaggerated dragon stories that Harry would hear for the next weeks. Harry smiled, and his gaze drifted to the couples on the dance floor. They had opened the dance floor earlier and he had danced with Ginny a few more times, but it was no secret that his dance skills had not improved much from the days of the Yule Ball. He watched Bill and Fleur, who were easily the most graceful couple on the dancefloor. Nearby Ron and Hermione were dancing in close embrace.

"They've danced like that all night," Ginny commented clearly having followed his musings, "you'd think their honey moon phase would have ended by now."

"If you want to dance?", he offered immediately but she shook her head.

She was right though, his best friends were as much in love as they had been during their wedding day six months ago. Ron and Hermione, who had had the wedding that they were also meant to have had. A big summer wedding in the grounds of the Burrow, that had been the wish and insistent suggestion of his mother-on-law. Today however, Harry knew it had been right to stand firm in their denial of that wish. He and Ginny had wanted a wedding that was special to them, not one that would remind them of that terrible night so many years ago. And so, after a lot of discussions, some heated words, and a lot of second-hand negotiating between him and Arthur, they had planned a winter wedding that was, as far as he was concerned, nothing but perfect. They had had the ceremony at the small church in Godrick's Hollow so close to his parent's grave that his heart had ached when he entered the church. Yet, he had also felt them close, silent witnesses from his side of the family. After the ceremony, they had portkeyed the guests to a remote cottage in the Scottish Highlands. They had picked Scotland for their shared love for its raw nature, their Hogwarts memories, and of course that holidays they had taken two years ago where Harry had proposed to her. That there would be fresh snow they had hoped, that the cottage with its low-hanging beams but large modern windows exposing the snow-capped mountains and frozen lake from nearly every angle would be their wedding venue was beyond their imagination. It looked even more stunning today after Hermione, Fleur and Luna had joined forces and decorated it with fairy lights, pine and Christmas roses.

"May I steal the bride?"

Harry's musings were abruptly interrupted, and he looked in front of him to see Neville standing at their table with a smile and a hand extended to Ginny.

"I'd be honoured to have a dance with my first ever dancing partner," Ginny replied and grasped his hand getting to her feet.

"Have fun," Harry nodded, "I'd say don't step on her feet but I'm sure she's in safer hands there with you rather than me."

He watched as they walked on the dancefloor and started waltzing with the start of the next tune. Ginny had chosen to wear her red hair partially braided, but most of it flowed freely as she twirled around the dance floor. Molly had tried to convince her to wear one of these complicated updoes, potentially with a traditional veil or a tiara. Harry could imagine neither if he was honest, but he had wisely stayed out of that particular discussion. He was pleased with the open hair though, he liked it like this, free and wild. It reminded him of chases around the quidditch pitch, of nights spent together with everything but sleeping.

He studied her as the dancing slowed down with the music. Her dress hugged her figure, but the skirt flowed nicely with every step. The dress had been another compromise, one that Ginny had made willingly. She knew how much her mother had longed for a daughter, for someone to pass the female heritage on to, and so it was no surprise that Molly had offered her own wedding dress to Ginny. It was also little wonder that the professional Quidditch player and only girl among six brothers had little interest in wearing a frilly dress that was decades old. Instead she was wearing a a simple, long skirt that had been died in a greyish pale blue and a high-necked white top that left her freckled arms exposed through the fine lace that had been taken from Molly's dress and carefully applied over Ginny's dress. It was a perfect blend of tradition and modernity, and she looked absolutely stunning in it. His eyes still on her dancing figure, Harry noticed someone taking the seat next to him.

"Congratulations, son." Arthur said clasping Harry's shoulder. "I just wanted you to know that we have all really enjoyed today."

"Thank you. I think Ginny would agree with me saying that it's been everything we had hoped for."

 _And it truly had been, the wedding day that was perfect for them._

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 _Thank you for reading. This is just a little fluff I wrote over the holidays. If you want chapter 2, just check back in a week or so. I know I have been rather quiet but I am working on longer new stories and so they take longer to complete. As always reviews and comments are very much appreciated._


	2. Ginny

She sipped at her wine, observing their guests across the room. There was her mother chatting with Andromeda at a table in the corner of the room, she saw Luna re-arranging the flower arrangement on the table she shared with a few of her Harpie friends. Audrey had joined them, probably because her husband had been in discussions with Kingsley and Dean for quite a while now. Why her brother insisted that Ministry talk should extend to her wedding day though, Ginny would never understand.

 _Family_ , she thought sighing inwardly. Her mum had pulled her aside earlier, hugged her with tears in her eyes and congratulated her on a beautiful day. Ginny had had to bite her tongue not to let it slip that in the last months they had fought tooth and nail pretty much over every aspect of the wedding. But none of that mattered today.

"May I steal the bride?"

A smile hushed over her face as she saw Neville standing there extending his hand. Accepting his invitation, she heard Harry say something about stepping on feet, but she had no worry there. Harry's dancing was decent enough after they had practiced a lot, but there was a reason she had been envied by most of her dorm on the night of the Yule Ball. When the music started with a waltz, she closed her eyes for a second and allowed herself to be led by his guiding movements.

"I hope you don't mind me saying this, but you look beautiful."

"Thank you."

She smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and searching his eyes.

"You know, I don't think I ever asked you why you dance so well."

He led her in another twirl, and when she came face to face with him again, she could see a smirk on his face.

"I think you maybe just have a poor comparison."

"Harry isn't that bad, and he's far from the only man I've danced with", she replied tilting her head to prompt a more satisfactory reply from her current dancing partner.

"I've just had lessons, and lots of them. My gran insisted on lessons from when I was 13. Once you got the basics down, it really is a lot more enjoyable."

She could see that he was trying to shrug it off, downplay his abilities as he did so often. He had certainly changed from the nervous school-boy she had danced with so many years ago, but much like her now husband, Neville did not enjoy the spotlight of attention.

"You hardly only have the basics down. Every ministry ball the girl you took would be the envy of the ensembled single witches," she teased though there was truth to her words

"It's a good thing then that Luna was oblivious to that and Hannah doesn't care," he replied with as much of a shrug as he could manage while dancing.

"Let's not forget the time you took me," she quipped up.

"I doubt I could forget that. There was enough press coverage to last me a life-time."

She watched him grow pensive for a second, but then he shook his head as if to force the thought out of his head.

"They're obsessed with Harry, even after years. And you're no better since the Harpies have been top of the league. How did you manage to keep all of this private?"

She looked around the room again, the fairly lights on the wooden beams, the dim light of the candles flickering in the snow outside, and a room full of people that she and Harry wanted to share this with. No concessions, no compromises.

"Look at this place, it's as remote as it gets. Only guests knew the location. We also cut a deal with Witch Weekly, the Prophet and the quibbler. They get three images approved by us, but only if they leave off all stories."

"Smart move," he nodded.

"Press secretary for the Harpies set it up. Though I did object to posing with a broom and my wedding dress."

"Good thing too, some people might have thought you'd married a broom, not a groom," the words came not from Neville, who would never display so little tact, but rather Bill who had waltzed past her with Fleur in his arms and was apparently close enough to overhear their conversation.

"That, Bill Weasley, must be the worst joke I have heard from you, and I have a long list to pick from," she replied.

"I think what he really wanted to say is, he would be pleased to have the next dance," Fleur stated with a meaningful look to her husband. "And maybe your dance partner would agree to a swap."

"Of course." Neville gave a small bow and then released her from the embrace they had shared dancing.

He waltzed off with Fleur and left Ginny standing opposite her eldest brother. Bill extended his right hand to her and bowed his head in a polite nod.

"May I have this dance?" His words were soft and when she met his eyes, they shone with sincerity.

She grasped his hand and they danced in silence for a moment. Only when they'd been once around the dancefloor and the music turned slower did he pull her in closer.

"You look beautiful tonight, but more importantly you look so happy Gin-Gin," he whispered into her ear.

She leaned on his shoulder, a familiarity they hadn't shared for so long. His scent was familiar though he had changed his after shave since they'd last been this close.

"I'm happy," she replied softly.

"I was worried," he hesitated and she could hear him clear his throat. "I was worried you would have bad memories. That they'd ruin your wedding. I watched you at Ron's wedding."

She was surprised he had noticed. She had been fine throughout the day, laughing, dancing and chatting with friends without a care in the world, but as the night went on, she hadn't been able to keep the memories at bay. That tent, the smells, the lights each twinkle pushing a memory of that night back into her mind.

She pushed away from her brother enough so that she could look him in the eye.

"There's a reason we didn't want a wedding at the Burrow. However, if we had wanted it there, then we would have. They won't win. I'll keep on making happy memories until there is no room for the dark ones."

"That's not how it works though, Gin-Gin."

"I'm really too old for you to call me that."

"You'll always be my little sister."

They continued the dance in silence, which left her time to let her eyes wander around the room again. She smiled as Fleur and Neville dance in unison, she observed how George sat closely to Angelina, who had left the table with the other Harpie's fairly soon after dinner. She knew the two had been spending more time with each other, but it looked much more serious than she had realised. Eventually, though her eyes rested on Harry. Hermione and Ron had finally stopped dancing and were now sitting next to him. _The Golden Trio united_ , she thought but there was no bitterness behind it. In the past she had envied the close bond the three of them had, had resented that they shared experiences she would never be part of. Now however, she accepted that it was not about memories that they had not shared, but about those that they did. And today, she had said yes to a lifetime of memories with him.

She smiled to herself.

Nothing could be more perfect than that.

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 _If you liked this little story, please consider leaving a quick review. It helps a lot. More stuff hopefully coming soon._

 _PS: I'm looking for a beta-reader, so drop me a line if you'd fancy that. Till I find someone, everything I post relies on my own two eyes and therefore I cannot guarantee that it is without spelling or grammer errors._


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